Staffing Agency Directors and Officers: The Risks of Social Networking
In the staffing industry world, recruiters are often encouraged to network, both physically and online. They’ve been called the “face” of their agency, and the perfect individual from a staffing agency to attend business networking events for the different industries they recruit for. But what are the risks of this networking, and how does it affect staffing agency Directors and Officers?
First off, it’s important for your Director or Officer clients to remember that if a recruiter is out there as the “face” of their agency, they are also speaking for that agency; thus they are speaking for the leaders of the organization. While attending business networking events in person may not involve much risk, online social networking does. By participating on Social Media Sites during or even after work hours, staffing agency employees can and do expose themselves and their organization to a diverse range of legal risks.
So what can staffing agency Directors and Officers do? The most important thing they can do is to create policies regarding social media use in relation to company guidelines, and monitor what is being said about their staffing agency by recruiters and other staffing agency employees. Below are some risks to watch out for.
Loss and disclosure form confidential information. Business networking sites, like LinkedIn, allow individuals to network with others by creating a connection with them. Employees are able to upload their email address book to LinkedIn and invite clients and potential clients to connect. Although this may seem harmless, in some circumstances this could very well constitute a breach of confidential information, as the employee is publicizing their organization’s database.
Employee acts of defamation. In any business, an employer may be held liable for the acts or omissions of their employees. This is especially risky if your client utilizes an employee to do their own social media marketing. It’s important for staffing agency Directors and Officers to continuously monitor their employee’s social media tasks that are done on behalf of the business, to avoid legal issues.
While your staffing agency clients will not be able to control what their recruiters and other staff do outside the company, there are steps that they can take to reduce social networking use and abuse within the company during business hours. This might include blocking social media sites that are not being used as part of an employees’ tasks, having a system in place to respond to complaints on forums, sites and fan pages, and introducing a comprehensive Social Media Policy to provide guidance and bind employees both during and after business hours.
For more information about Staffing Agency Directors and Officers Insurance or Merger Acquisition protection, please contact your account manager at World Wide Specialty Programs at (877) 256-0468. We are an integral part of the staffing industry and know the industry better than any.